Pumba Cruise Line
by MyOpIc MaIdEn
Summary: Mulder and Scully go undercover as a newlywed couple on a cruise. Nine people have disappeared on the Pumba Cuise Line and Skinman asssigns the two to solve the case. Yes the cruise is the warthogs name on The Lion King.
1. Chapter 1

CHAPTER 1

"Are you serious Skinner?" FBI agent Dana Scully could not believe she had to go undercover as her partner Fox Mulder's wife again. "Are there not any other male and female agents that could play the part?"

"Oh come on Scully, we had fun last time didn't we?" Mulder gave her a little wink, making certain that their boss did not see it. The truth of the matter was that Mulder really did have fun on the other undercover assignment. He and his partner got along so well that everyone believed they were husband and wife. Mulder actually allowed himself to think of them as a couple a few times. Of course he brought himself back to reality quickly, telling himself that Scully was his friend, partner, confidante, but nothing more.

"Can I at least explain what the assignment entails?" Skinner was not angry, yet he was becoming somewhat annoyed. Mulder and Scully were two of his best agents. The only problem was that every case he gave the two of them became extremely complicated. The government was trying to conceal some truth. "The truth" could range from the existence of aliens to murders. This proved that the two of them would stop at nothing to discover the truth. That is precisely the reason why he needed these two agents on this case; no one else would work or be brave enough.

"Sorry sir, go ahead," replied Scully.

"There have been a total of nine disappearances on the Pumba Cruise Line. Have the two of you ever heard of this Cruise line?" Skinner looked at the two agents and awaited a reply.

"Well no sir, I have never heard of that cruise line. But isn't that one of the characters from the Lion King?" Mulder looked back and forth between Scully and Skinner.

"Agent Mulder, I do not know if that is a character on a children's movie or not. The point is that nine people are missing and the authorities are claiming that they all committed suicide," Skinner replied with a slight hint of anger in his voice.

"Alright, sir. Exactly what are Agent Mulder and I supposed to do on this assignment? I mean couldn't we just question the staff and passengers and conduct a normal investigation?" Scully found it difficult to play a pretend role and solve a crime.

"I will not sit here and argue with the two of you any longer! Agent Mulder and Agent Scully, the two of you will go undercover on Pumba Cruise Line as a newlywed couple. You will be departing from Florida at 8am in two days. The trip will be for two weeks. During which the two of you will act as much as a newlywed couple as you must in order to convince the other guests. Figure out the reason for the disappearances quickly. The F.B.I. wants a speedy investigation. If you happen to solve the crime before the two weeks is up…I can have the two of you returned to Washington at the same time as the convict. Are there any questions?'

"Sir, do we have a specific identification? Or am I allowed to choose Scully and my names?"

"Mulder, you got to choose last time! Remember Rob and Laura Pietry? We agreed that I would get to pick the names this time." Scully had no idea what names she would pick, all she knew was that she didn't want Mulder to do it.

"Quite frankly, I don't care who chooses the names. I did not include a name with the purchase of the tickets," Skinner replied dryly.

"All right, thank you sir. We will do our best to get to the bottom of these disappearances."


	2. Chapter 2

CHAPTER 2

Scully knocked on Mulder's apartment door for the third time. What in the world could he be doing? He wasn't answering his phone or his door. She was making a bet with herself that he had forgotten to pack for the trip; therefore, he was ignoring her until he finished.

"Hey Scully, what's up? Are you early?" Mulder asked. He looked at Scully intently for a moment or two. She looked really good in regular clothes. He just wished she would wear stuff like that more often.

"No Mulder I am not early; in fact I'm a couple of minutes late. Are you done packing or do you need some help?" She didn't want to help him pack, but she didn't have much of a choice if they were going to catch their flight to Florida.

"Well, actually, I would love some help. I am almost done. I'm just having some trouble picking out things that match and are appropriate for a cruise line. Plus I have to make enough outfits for two weeks. I only have three more to go." Mulder had no idea how she could possibly help. He simply didn't have enough clothes to make a different outfit for two weeks.

The two of them walked into Mulder's bedroom together. Mulder immediately went over to the closet to grab the rest of his dress shirts and ties. Scully looked around the room. That bed, in the center of the room, she had laid there with Mulder one night. Well ok, she had actually lain there with Morris Fletcher. But it was Mulder's reflection in the mirror above the bed she had seen.

"Scully, hello, are you even listening to me?" Mulder looked at Scully as if she had three heads.

"What yes, I'm listening to you. You should where that blue-gray shirt with that blue tie. It brings out the color in your eyes." Scully just then made eye contact with Mulder, admiring his ever-changing color of eyes. "You know you don't have to wear a tie the entire time, right? I mean you can throw in those four polos. Also, that sweater vest from our last undercover assignment will be perfect. Oh don't forget to pack your bathing suit."

Mulder quickly threw in the items Scully had recommended into his suitcase. He was rather proud of himself for fitting all of his stuff into one suitcase and one carryon.

Scully stood up and began to walk out the door. "By the way, aren't you curious what our new names are?' She gave him a mischievous smile.

"Oh no, Scully what did you come up with?" Mulder tried to pretend like he was nervous. Truth is, he knew that Scully would choose good names.

"Mulder, it's not Scully anymore. My name is Genevieve Allen and your name is Darius Allen."

"Are you serious Scully? First I grow up with the name Fox and now when I have a choice my name is Darious. I liked Rob Pietry much better!"

"That's the point, you grew up with an interesting or different name. Whereas I had to mature with the plain name of Dana."

"Alright then. I am not about to have our first fight over something so simple. Wanna guess how excited I am for our honeymoon? You know technically tonight is our wedding night," Mulder replied flirtatiously.

"No I don't want to guess. Also, Mulder we are partners at the F.B.I. and we have been assigned to discover the truth about the disappearances of nine men and women. We have not been assigned to explore the anatomy of each others bodies", Scully said with a straight face. Secretly, she was nervous about this whole assignment. I mean how did Skinner expect the two of them to eat together, swim together, get pictures together, and sleep in the same bed together. Mulder is a good-looking man and the way he flirted with her sometimes. She was worried that their "friendship and partnership" could become complicated during this investigation.


	3. Chapter 3

**CHAPTER 3**

"Can I please see some identification for the two of you?" The security guard for the cruise line appeared particularly stressed.

"Of course. Here's mine, I'm Darius Allen. Pleased to meet you," Mulder replied extending his hand for a handshake. The guard shook the hand without his expression changing at all. "Honey, can you hurry up and find your ID? I'm certain this man has an ample amount of tasks to complete. This is my wife Genny. Man it feels good to say that. We just got married."

"Actually my name is Genevieve Allen. Here is my passport. I knew I could find it as long as you didn't rush me, poopy head," Scully gave Mulder a fake smile. She was tired. The plane ride has been everything but relaxing. Two babies were placed near her and Mulder's seats. They cried the entire time. Even when she put in headphones, she could not drown out the sound. Now that she was getting on the cruise, she only wanted to go to the room and sleep for the rest of the night. Tomorrow they could start the investigation.

"Scully, should we first go to our rooms to unpack?' Mulder knew his partner was tired because of the plane ride. He didn't have a lot of sympathy for her though; he was in the seat next to her and was also annoyed by the never-ending cries.

"Yes, I suppose we should. After unpacking we can freshen up for dinner. Maybe we will even have enough time to take a nap," Scully stated while walking behind Mulder down the hallway.

"What do you mean, we can't take a nap! We have to wave goodbye when we leave port. That time added in with getting settled, there will only be a short amount of time. Not enough time to sleep . . .maybe enough for something else though." Mulder had stopped walking and was facing Scully when he stated this.

"Here is your room, sir. I believe you and the misses should find it perfect. The captain will be making an announcement about the time of our departure. Afterwards another announcement will be made in regards to the time of dinner. Is there anything I can do to make the two of you more comfortable?" The bellhop smiled as he asked the question.

"No, I think we are fine. Thank you and we will listen for those announcements," Scully replied.

The room was small. There was a double bed, a dresser, a closet, and the door to their bathroom. Everything was very basic, the things you must have.

"Wow, Mulder, this is tiny! Do you think Skinner booked us the right type of room? I mean shouldn't a honeymoon sweet be big and specious?" Scully knew the trip was not going to be enjoyable if her and Mulder had to organize all of the investigative information in the small room.

"Well, Scully, I think we have the necessities. Honeymooners need a bed and a shower. Everything else would just be in the way. I do admit it'll be a little cramped when we try to organize things. We had a whole house for our last investigation . . .this time we have ten times the area to search and our workspace is ten times smaller," Mulder responded as he looked around the room.

"All right then. Lets start to unpack. My stuff will go on the right side of the closet and the bottom three drawers. You can put your stuff in the remaining space." Scully was too busy unzipping her suitcase to notice Mulder lying on the bed. "There is literally no extra space in this room. I mean where do you plan on sleeping?"

"I am just fine right here," Mulder replied. "I even left the right side open for you. I figured if you put your clothes on the right side of the closet you probably sleep on the right side of the bed also."

"Well thanks, Mulder. However, I am not certain I'm comfortable sleeping in the same bed as you. Studies show that partners should keep their relationships strictly professional. If agents begin to feel too attached to their partner, then romantic feelings could arise. The particular feelings could then put every case the two of them are involved in complicated. Cases can't be solved if the agents have other things on their mind than their assignment. Then reassignment would be the only answer. After reassignment," Mulder quickly interrupted her.

"Scully, I said you can sleep on the same bed as me. Nowhere in the conversation did I mention anything about becoming romantically involved. I mean we are married for the second time and we are celebrating our honeymoon. But if you want to keep it all strictly professional so we never get reassigned and I'm sure you were going to tell of many other horrible things that result.

"The main point is that we are on a case where nine people have disappeared," Scully said.

"You are right, but . . . Skinman said the two of us need to act as much as a newlywed couple as possible. That means the two of us need to hold hands and show our affection frequently. Speaking of affection, this bed is very comfortable. I'm sure it would be perfect for . . ."

The intercom bell went off at that exact moment. Hello guests, we are currently preparing to leave port. If you would like to wave goodbye you have approximately fifteen minutes to get a good spot on the upper deck," the captain announced.

"Saved by the bell," Scully smirked at Mulder while saying this.

"Sure, sure. But let's see what you are saying later. You only have one honeymoon, might as well make the best of it," Mulder replied flirtatiously.

"Well Mulder I actually hope that one day I have a real honeymoon. You know the type that occurs after a wedding, one that does not involve an investigation into the disappearance of people. There are a couple of other things I would like to be different between then and now."

"All right, whatever you say. We better get upstairs. I don't want to miss out on waving goodbye to a bunch of complete strangers. Plus this is the perfect time to make some friends," Mulder replied as he headed towards the door.

Scully dropped the remaining clothing into the bottom drawer. She did hope her next honeymoon had a lot of differences . . . but she hoped the man was not different. "Wait up Mulder." Scully ran out the door quickly to catch up with her partner.

"Oh here she is. Patrick and Kate, this is my lovely wife Genny," Mulder said this with a huge smile on his face.

"Hello, it is so nice to meet you Genny." Kate held out her arms for a hug from Scully.

"Nice to meet you too. But my name is actually Genevieve. Darius just has a good time giving me little nicknames," Scully said.

"Speaking of nicknames, what was it that you called him when you ran out of the room," asked Patrick.

"Oh I called him Muffin," Scully replied quickly.

"How sweet! You can tell the two of you just got married. You look so cute and comfortable together," Kate told the two agents. "The two of you have to sit with us at dinner tonight. We can discuss everything. However, right now we have to run in order to get upstairs in time to wave goodbye."

"We'll follow your lead," Mulder stated as he wrapped his arm around Scully's waist.

The two couples walked quickly through the ship. They had approximately five minutes to get to the upper deck before the ship sailed away. Big cruise lines take some time to speed up and deport from the dock. Therefore, when they grabbed the railing overlooking the crowd, the ship was barely moving. They stood up there for about an hour. They learned the basics about each other. Luckily Mulder and Scully were able to cover their job and family information on the plane ride.

"Wait, so if Darius is a psychologist and you're a nurse, did you meet at the hospital?" Patrick asked the couple while watching the waves crash on the side of the ship.

"Actually we have mutual friends. Also, he hurt himself one day and when he arrived at the hospital I was the attending nurse," Scully stated.

"How did you hurt yourself, are you alright now?" Kate asked the couple looking particularly concerned.

"I was hit by a car while I was running. Luckily, my lovely Genny nursed me back to health," Mulder squeezed Scully close to him as he spoke to the other couple.

"Well, I don't exactly think I saved his life. But he is so fortunate to have me around to always help him out. You know, believe all of his crazy ideas and stick up for him when his ideas don't turn out completely correct."

Mulder laughed at the end of that statement. "Yes, I am so very fortunate."

The captain once again came over the loud speaker. This time it was to announce that dinner was to be served at 7 p.m. That left a little over three hours of free time.

"Wow that gives us some time. I guess the two of us will roam around the ship for a little while before returning to our room," Mulder said.

"Have fun. Kate and I will be returning to our room now. You know this is the honeymoon cruise. Hopefully one only has one honeymoon . . .therefore all time must be filled with something meaningful." Patrick took Kate's hand and began to walk away from Mulder and Scully.

"We will be sure to find you at dinner," Mulder called after the couple.

When the couple had disappeared from sight, Mulder turned back to Scully. "What do you think so far? I have not seen anything suspicious. Everyone appears nice and the staff are more than willing to help in every way possible."

"Of course they are! They know as well as we do that nine people are missing, probably dead. I just hope those nine people are not still somewhere on this ship if they are deceased. Do you have any idea how bad that would smell? Nine bodies decomposing at the same time."

"You know Genny, you have a way of making even the greatest things bad. We are on our honeymoon. Yes we are investigating a crime, but we are allowed to enjoy ourselves in the meantime. Lets take a walk now. We can talk to other couples, snoop a little, and yet relax."  
"Right Muffin lets go act affectionate." Under her breath she mumbled, "God help me through this . . ."

"Come on Genny the truth awaits."


	4. Chapter 4

CHAPTER 4

Mulder glanced over at Scully and smiled. She was smiling and looked genuinely happy. They were conversing with three other couples on the deck of the ship. The other couples told jokes and seemed interested in everything that came out of Scully's mouth. Sure, Mulder listened to her and loved to tell jokes. The difference here was that Scully was laughing at these jokes. The majority of the time when Mulder told jokes, she appeared annoyed.

Mulder changed his attention back to the three couples chatting with them. The earlier couple they met, Patrick and Kate were among the other couples. Patrick did seem rather tense, but Kate was so sweet that Mulder doubted the two of them had anything to do with the crime. The second couple seemed like movie stars. Both of them were gorgeous and obviously very wealthy. Mulder thought they acted snobby, but Scully spoke with them easily. It was obvious to him that Scully belonged in the upper class of society. The movie star couple's names were Wesley and Alexandria. Mulder was not sure he liked them…they were nice…but they were just too perfect. They didn't appear realistic. The last couple was the truly odd one. The woman who went by the name of Emmy was huge. She was over six feet tall and must have weighed over 350 pounds. Her husband Theodore was about as opposite of her as possible. He was less than five and a half feet tall, maybe weighed 120 pounds, and was bald. The couple acted, for lack of a better word, stupid. Every joke involved a loud cackle from Emmy and a snort from Theodore. Mulder wondered how he and Scully had attracted a normal, movie star, and a circus couple. He also wondered which one of them engrossed each of the couples. He knew that Scully captivated the movie stars, but what about the other two?

The bell sounded, gathering attention that an announcement was about to be made. "Dinner will be served in one hour in the main dining hall."

"Alright Genny, we better bid these folks farewell till dinner. She takes so long getting ready, if I don't get her started now we'll miss the meal," Mulder jokingly said, while taking Scully's hand in his.

"Oh yes, I do believe I would like to freshen up also, Wesley. I guess we all should go back to our rooms till we can meet up at dinner." Alexandria said as she took hold of her new husband's hand and began to walk away.

Kate then grabbed Patrick's hand and turned to head back to their room. Emmy and Theodore, being the last ones left on the deck, turned and walked away.

As Mulder and Scully walked back to their room, they tried not to mention the other couples. Neither one wanted to accuse someone until they had more solid information. In addition, they were passengers on the cruise ship and they certainly did not want to become the next missing couple.

"You know Mulder, there are many couples on this ship. We don't even know if any of the ones we met yet are the killers." Scully waited until they were both in the room and the door was locked before she made the statement.

"True, Scully, but I think your Hollywood couple is suspicious. I mean no one is that perfect."

"Mulder, I like them. I like them more than the other two couples. If you ask me, Emmy and Theodore are the criminals. They're a little too strange for me." Scully stated as she decided what she would wear to dinner.

"Sure they are kinda weird and their constant laughter gets old quick, but they seem nicer than the other two couples." Mulder stopped for a second to turn and look at Scully to make sure she was listening.

"I think Kate is nice, but it seems odd that she's with Patrick. I mean he acts so grim and boring. Then Alexandria and Wesley seem too perfect. Their only flaw is the fact that they are stuck up and think they're better than the rest of us. Lastly, Emmy and Theodore are kind. Yes, they are nerdy, but that doesn't mean the two of them are a crazy murderous couple. Right?"

Scully sighed, "Mulder, I agree that Patrick seems very serious, certainly for a man on his honeymoon. I think Alexandria and Wesley are just upper class and are not accustomed to conversing with the lower class. Theodore and Emmy are just a little too "nerdy" for me. On the other hand, its like I already said; there aren't only four couples on this ship. We will meet many more couples tonight at dinner."

Scully walked into the bathroom to change into the cute plum dress she had decided to wear. Mulder began to get dressed in the room; however, he didn't get too far.

"Scully, I know couples are supposed to match so I will leave you to choose the shirt and tie for me." Mulder hollered.

"Alright, I will do that if you can zip the back of my dress up for me."

With that comment Mulder raised his eyebrows, as he often does when he suspects Scully is flirting with him.

"I will zip it up as long as after dinner I also get to unzip it." Mulder was now behind Scully so she couldn't see his facial expressions.

"Well Mulder, I don't any signs of it raining sleeping bags… so I guess that means you won't be getting lucky tonight. Now hurry up so I can find something of yours that will at least look like we attempted to pack together."

Mulder stepped back after he finished with the dress. Scully could look so beautiful when she wasn't wearing those terrible dress suits. Though he was glad she did wear them while they were at work. Working with a beautiful woman in tight dresses could quickly become a bad thing.

"Mulder are you with me? I want you to wear this silver shirt and the black tie. I'm going to wear silver and black jewelry, black heels, black purse, and maybe something in my hair. Go put this on and I should be ready to go when you come out."

"Scully, you are so great sometimes. I mean what would…"

"So great sometimes? Wow thanks, Darius! Now change before we are late and the killer decides to eliminate us because of it."

"You know what I mean, you are great all the time… except when you argue with me when I'm right. I hope this guy doesn't make people disappear because they don't arrive to dinner on time." Mulder finished the statement as he closed the bathroom door.

Mulder looked at himself in the mirror. He fixed his tie to make certain it looked perfect. Then he tried to push his hair into the perfect position, but it just wouldn't stay. That is when he noticed a bottle of gel sitting on the sink. _That just might work_, he thought to himself. He wanted Scully to be impressed by how well he could dress up. When he was finally satisfied with the tie and his hair he slowly came out of the bathroom.

"Scully, you look wonderful."

"Thank you Mulder, now lets leave. I am so hungry." Scully watched Mulder as he moved across the room to put on his dress jacket. He looked wonderful also. What was it about him now that made her nervous to go to dinner with him? I mean he wears a suit everyday at work, that couldn't be the difference. Maybe it was because they were on a honeymoon cruise or maybe it was something he did with his hair. It looked like he had changed it, or at least put forth some effort towards it.

"So what do you think?"

"I think you clean up pretty well. Did you do something different with your hair? It looks like you put some of my gel in it."

"Scully, we are on our honeymoon. Maybe we can go without you making radical accusations. I mean why would I use your hair gel?"

"Then why is it so perfect?"

Scully tried to reach her hand up to touch it, but Mulder grabbed it before she could.

"Its just wet. I ran some water through it. Now drop it so we can get to dinner before they begin to serve dessert."

Mulder had to half push Scully out the door. He wasn't really in any hurry; he just didn't want Scully to know that he had gone to the trouble of gelling his hair. Also, the fact that the hair products belonged to her didn't help.


	5. Chapter 5

CHAPTER 5

The dining hall was full with at least three hundred couples. The tables were capable of seating six couples. Mulder and Scully looked at each other nervously upon walking through the doors. There were so many people, how would they ever find their friends or more importantly find the killer.

"Can you see any of the people we met so far? Not a single person in here looks familiar," Scully stated as she craned her neck to try to look farther into the hall. It was of course of no use; even with high-heels she was only a little over five and a half feet tall.

"I don't see anyone. I guess that means we will have to sit with other couples. It doesn't really matter right, I mean that way we can interrogate more . . ."

"DARIUS! GENNY! WE ARE OVER HERE!" Emmy bellowed this over the crowd. All the other couples stopped what they were doing to see who the important Darius and Genny were.

"Wow . . .you know I don't have to even turn around to see who just called our names. Only one couple would shout as loud as they could in a dining hall on a cruise ship. Mulder, I seriously doubt I can sit through an entire dinner with these p. . ."

" MR. AND MRS. ALLEN! COME ON OVER!" Emmy was not certain she had the couple's attention so she decided to continue to yell to them. Alexandria shot her an evil glare, but Emmy didn't care.

"Yeah, we hear you, Emmy. Of course, so does every other person on this ship and every person that is currently on a boat in the ocean." Mulder whispered this as he waved to her to show that he had heard her.

Mulder and Scully walked over to the table and sat down. Alexandria and Wesley were seated there, as well as Emmy and Theodore. The other three couples were not ones that Mulder or Scully had met yet.

"Hello. How are you tonight? My name is Darius Allen and this is my lovely wife Genny." Mulder wrapped his arm around Scully at the end of this statement.

"Oh well hello, nice to meet you. My name is Jamison and this is my wife Fran. We are both doing fine, though I expect we will be feeling much better later tonight." Jamison winked at his new wife.

"Right with you, Jamison." Laughed another man at the table. "Darius and Genny, it's nice to meet you also. I'm Scott and this is my wonderful new wife, Madelyn."

"I guess since everyone else has introduced themselves already, we are the last ones. You can call me TJ and you can call my wife Hannah."

All the men stood up and shook Mulder's hand as they introduced themselves and their wives. Scully said hello and introduced herself to each of the women.

"Well, the rest of us have been playing twenty questions. You know we are just trying to feel a little more comfortable with each other. I guess you have to be careful what you say if one of us is a cop or something. Wow, I don't know if I would say anything if someone introduced themselves as FBI." Laughed Scott.

Mulder and Scully both laughed at that. They did laugh a little awkwardly; I mean you really can't blame them since they actually are agents and the fact that they were only there because they were trying to stop a killer.

"You don't need to worry about us, Scott. I am a psychologist and Genny is a nurse. So I guess we can help you if you're doing dangerous stuff. You know if that's the reason you don't want to speak with the FBI." Mulder tried to smile at he end of the comment.

"I race cars. Well, during the day I am a traffic cop, but when the sun goes down I'm off the beat and on the street. I haven't lost a race with this new car of mine." Scott smiled at this statement.

"Oh that's cool, what kind of car do you race?" Mulder and the other men suddenly looked interested in the conversation.

"Well the car I'm using now is . . ."

"Now, now honey. This is our honeymoon. The last thing we are going to do is spend it talking about your illegal activities. Plus you promised that you would get rid of that car and buy something more useful for a family man." Madelyn said as she patted her husband's arm.

"Alright fine. Back to the twenty question game." Madelyn looked at Scully and seemed to be thinking hard for a question to ask her.

"Genny, what do you think is your husband's best physical quality?"

Scully blushed at this question. This was going to be a long night if she had to answer twenty questions about Mulder being a good-looking guy.

"I really like his eyes. They change color. So sometimes they appear blue, but when he gets angry they become a smoky gray color. I find them very interesting; you know . . .I know his emotions without him opening his mouth."

"Cute. Darius what is your favorite physical quality of Genny?"

Mulder had to decide whether he would be a man now and admit all of the things he liked about her. On the other hand he could continue to be a coward and not tell her that he had fallen in love with her many years ago and wanted to one day go on a cruise. However, next time they went on a cruise he wanted to be married to her, not investigating some crime.

All right, he was going to be a man. He was going to answer every question with the truth. He would tell the woman he loved that he thought her best physical attribute was her mouth.

"I like her red hair." Whoa. Where did that come from? He was not as brave with his heart as he was with his life. He risked his life almost everyday. Someone or something wanted to kill him, end his life. Somehow he came up with enough courage to battle the being and live another day. Now it was time for the truth, time to give his heart to the first and only woman he had ever loved. Yet he couldn't do it, he couldn't stand the thought of rejection.

"Really? My hair is your favorite thing." Scully looked questionably at him. She could tell he was deep in thought, his eyes told her. However, she knew it was not the case he was looking puzzled over.

"What, yeah. I like your hair. Not many people have red hair. It is a nice difference you know, it makes you special." Mulder tried to act sincere, but everyone at the table could tell he wasn't.

"Alright next question. I want to know what you did with your hair, Darius." Fran stated.

"What do you mean? I didn't do anything special with it."

"Yes you did. You must have at least used hair gel."

"I knew you used my hair gel, Mulder!" Scully yelled.

"Is Mulder your pet name for him? It seems like a rather weird name to call your husband. Isn't it a last name?" Fran questioned them. The other people just all looked at Mulder and Scully waiting for an answer.

"Yes it is a pet name. It has a deep meaning to it. I was researching one day and I found it and then I started to call him that." Scully nervously tried to sound confident.

"I think its weird too. I can't get her to stop using it though; I don't want to start a fight on the honeymoon . . .so I am just going to drop it." Mulder smiled at Scully.

"Wait a minute. You use your wife's hair gel?" Jamison gave Mulder a strange look.

"No I don't! I didn't use her gel, I simply took a shower and it just turned out this way. All right, that's it. Next question."

"Emmy, where did you buy that lovely dress?" Mulder asked Emmy. The dress wasn't really lovely, he simply wanted the attention off of him and Scully.

"Oh wow. Thank you, Darius. I got it at this shop near where Theodore and I live in…North Dakota."

"I have family from North Dakota. Which part are you from?" Hannah inquired.

"Umm, we are from the north part."

Everyone at the table laughed at that statement. Even Alexandria and Wesley smiled.

"Well my family is from a small town on the Eastern part of the state called Springerville. Is that anywhere near the two of you?"

"No, we are from the northwestern part. Probably the complete opposite side of the state as your family, I'm sure we have never met them or shopped at the same grocery store." Theodore smiled at everyone at the end of the weird declaration.

"Well I guess that clears up any further questions directed to Theodore or Emmy." Scott laughed.

"Next question," Mulder suggested.

"Does anyone want to go up on deck with me for a quick smoke before dinner?" TJ looked at the rest of the guests at the table. He knew his wife would say no, so he hoped for some other company.

"He's the guilty one. Should we arrest him now or after dinner? He must work with Ciggy." Mulder whispered as he leaned into Scully.

"Let's just wait on that."


	6. Chapter 6

CHAPTER 6

Dinner was served shortly after TJ and Scott returned from their smoke. The meal included a chowder, bruschetta, and stuffed mushrooms as an appetizer. Then the main course for the night was provided which included a variety of vegetables and grilled salmon.

"All of this tastes quite wonderful," stated Alexandria.

"It is indeed all well prepared, it makes me curious as to the rest of the meals. Though I am not certain this will be able to stand up against the main dishes served the last time we were on a cruise." Wesley declared to his wife.

"The last cruise? When was the last time you two went on a cruise?" Mulder was suddenly more interested in the conversion occurring between the two movie stars than the car talk happening between the other men of the table.

"Oh, we actually go quite often. We cannot take our boat out during the winter and therefore we go on multiple cruises. I just cannot get enough of the water." Alexandria peered back and forth between Mulder and Scully at this point.

"That sounds wonderful, I wish we could afford to do that, Darius," Scully wrapped her hands around Mulder's upper arm at the conclusion of the statement.

Mulder, feeling Scully's hands on his bicep, automatically flexed. Once he realized this he tried to relax his muscle. However it was too late and Scully was already peering up at him. Wow, he could not believe himself right now . . .was he really trying to show off his physique for Scully? I mean he was in shape, but there were plenty of other men larger and stronger than he. Plus this was Scully, the same Scully that had fallen asleep on his shoulder multiple times and had seen him without a shirt. Then again maybe she would notice that he had been making a point of hitting the gym for at least a couple of hours a week over the past three months . . .

"Oh wow, Genny I see now what you mean about Darius's eyes. They have glazed off into a strange color. He must be deep in thought about something." The entire table was staring at Mulder at the end of the declaration from Fran.

All of a sudden Mulder realized that not only Scully had taken her hands off of his arm but also the entire table had their eyes fixed on him.

"Darius, honey, what are you thinking about?" Scully asked the question knowing that he would not give a truthful answer. If he were thinking about her, who she hoped he had been, he would never say. If had been considering the possible suspects of the crime, he would not mention anything until they returned to their cabin for the night.

"I was just thinking about . . . I was thinking about when we met and how far we have come since that day." Mulder knew Scully wouldn't believe him, but he hoped the rest of their company would believe.

"I love stories about couples meeting. Please tell the whole story." Madelyn appeared to be so interested in the story to come.

"Well we met at a restaurant and I bought her a drink so I could talk to her. We just hit it off." Mulder wrapped his arm around Scully.

"Wait I thought you met each other in the hospital. Kate and I were sharing couple meeting stories and she said that you were in a bicycle accident and Genny nursed you back to health?" Alexandria stated with a questioning tone.

Mulder and Scully looked like deer caught in headlights. They had messed up their story. The entire time they were chatting with the other couples they had been trying to find problems in stories. Here they were telling separate meeting stories.

"After Darius was released from the hospital we lost touch for a little while. It wasn't until he saw me in the restaurant that night that we started dating. I mean I couldn't exactly date him while he was a patient. Plus I transferred to a hospital closer to my house. I figured since I lost his number and I changed hospitals, I would never see him again." Scully tried to keep her voice confident.

"But you can't hide from me. I always get what I want and I want you to be my wife." Mulder gazed intensely into Scully's eyes.

"That is just the cutest darn thing! Now isn't that so cute, Theodore?" Emmy's sudden booming voice immediately ruined the romantic moment for Mulder and Scully.

"I do say that is adorable, dear." Theodore smirked at Emmy. Emmy immediately burst into her uncontrollable cackle.

"Your laugh is so, so, so loud, Emmy. I am certain that everyone will be jealous of the joke that must have been told here. However, since I am not laughing, I guess Wesley and I must have missed it." Alexandria looked quite annoyed. There wasn't anyone there that wondered whether she and her husband would request a different table for all of the remaining meals.

Mulder smiled at Scully. The smile was for a couple of reasons. The first being the fact that he knew Scully hated Emmy. The loud cackle from Emmy made Scully cringe every time. Second, she had totally just covered his mess. When Alexandria first confronted them, Mulder had no idea what to say. At first he wanted to claim that Kate had no idea what she talking about, she must have misheard him or confused them with another couple. However, he knew that would appear suspicious. Plus if one of the couples at the table were running around cruise lines murdering couples . . .well he didn't want to attract any undue attention to him and his partner. Lastly, he smiled at Scully because they had just had a moment. The moment wasn't like their usual where he flirts or says something with a double meaning and hopes she understands. Then waits patiently while the wheels turn in her head and then he can do nothing but smirk. This time it was different. He had said he wanted her to be his wife. He meant what he said. It wasn't like the time where his partner had named every single type of supernatural reason for people hurting themselves and he had been so astonished by her knowledge that he had asked her to marry him. No this time he meant it. Of course if she had said yes instead of saying she wanted something more useful and then hanging up, he would have agreed. He had found Scully attractive since he met her. It took a couple years before he admitted to himself that he was in love.

"Finally the desert part!" Madelyn looked like a kid in a candy shop as she watched the men walk through the dinning room handing out plates with the most delectable deserts.

"Oh I wonder, what they made us tonight. I am sure it will get better and better each and every night." Emmy smiled at the rest of the table as she also eyed up the servers.

The cruise line gave an array of choices for dessert, tiramisu, white chocolate raspberry cheesecake, ice cream, chocolate mouse cake, or zeppoli. Everyone at the table took a moment and then settled for one and silently promised himself or herself that they would try the others another night. Everyone that is except for Emmy, she told the server that she could not choose and therefore she wanted to try one of each. She didn't even act bashful when the group stopped and watched the server try to squeeze that many plates in front of her. At least Theodore noticed all of the eyes and told the servers he did not want anything because he was going to share with his new wife.

"Wow, I would never guess that you could finish all of that food. Especially finish it all after you ate that large dinner" Alexandria stated with an obvious disgust in her voice. She had told Wesley from the beginning that they could be around Emmy and Theodore. Alexandria knew her and husband were way to classy for this group, not to mention she did want any undue attention from the crowd of this cruise line.

"Alright, well that was a very interesting meal. I believe Madelyn and I will return to our rooms a little early" Scott took hold of his wife's hand as they rose from the table together.

"Oh that sounds like a wonderful idea, Hannah and I will walk back with you, plus if we don't head in now . . .who knows if we will be able to get up tomorrow for breakfast," TJ winked at his wife as he wrapped his arms around her.

Hannah turned to the rest of the table after a quick kiss with her new husband. "Would anyone else like to walk back to their rooms with us? We might as well all walk back together, wouldn't want anyone to be thrown overboard . . ." Hannah just stared at the table with no expression on her face. In fact the lack of expression, Mulder decided, actually made her appear scarier than if she would have had an evil glare.

"There is certainly nothing holding my dear Wesley and I here. But we will probably take a walk around the ship before returning to our rooms. I'm sure we will be fine, but would you want us to call you and TJ when we get back to our rooms safetly. . . you are playing the role of mommy right? Alexandria seemed to be getting more and more snobbish as the night went on.

Mulder didn't know what to say, three of the couples had returned to their rooms. Thank goodness one of the couples included Alexandria, Wesley sure would have his hands full with her. Jamison and Fran were making pleasant conversation with Scully and Theodore. Emmy had left to "powder her nose" about twenty minutes ago. There was no doubt that the abundant desserts were not sitting well in her stomach. The fact that she had asked for two pieces of salmon rather than the standard one piece, probably just added to her problems in the bathroom. All right, so she ate a ton, that doesn't mean she is guilty of anything other than gluttony. Hannah and TJ seemed nice, but the reference to throwing people overboard is very suspicious. She didn't even try to write it off as a joke, it's as if she knows something. Scott and Madelyn, well other than wanting to return to their rooms immediately, there really isn't anything weird about them, well come to think of it, a honeymoon couple that doesn't want to be in their rooms at all times is weird. That would then mean that in addition to being arrogant, Alexandria and Wesley are weird. They are honeymooners and they want to walk around the ship, not to mention the fact that they claimed they go on many cruises, what are they looking for? I mean why walk around ships at night you can't see anything . . .other than people.

Well Mulder had no idea who the guilty couple was on this ship, but he and Scully were going to discuss the possibilities in-depth when they returned to their rooms. Of course that would mean the night would be spent arguing rather than spending it the way most newlyweds would . . .but the reality of the situation must be kept in mind at all times, people are disappearing. As much as the forward development of Mulder and Scully's relationship is important, tonight there are more important items.

Tomorrow morning he could begin to formulate his game plan of not only capturing criminals and solving this case, but also for becoming a real newlywed.


End file.
